It's amazing how the Internet empowers us these days. The entire phenomenon of POD publishing has, in just a few years, morphed into a new digital eBook revolution. More books are now selling in the Amazon Kindle store than in their printed copy store. This does not surprise me, though it seemed to catch Borders Books off guard, and their inability to adapt to the digital revolution like Barnes & Noble did led to their sad demise.
One of my favorite bloggers, Juan Cole, recently posted a lament for the loss of Borders, fearing it may signal the end of the book store. Something about browsing the books, smelling the newly printed editions, enjoying a quiet read with a cup of coffee cannot be put into a Kindle. But readers are voting with their dollars, and the industry will follow this new digital trend, as I have. My Kindle sales now exceed actual physical book sales on all my novels and, in an effort to generate interest, I've been making some video trailers and posting on Youtube.
Here's an example of a trailer for my Silk Road series novels:
And here's a trailer I made for the popular Meridian Series Time Travel books I've written.
One of the fun parts was composing and recording the background music on my electronic keyboard, a tool that puts a full orchestra at your fingertips, quite literally. Tools like the computer, the Internet and this keyboard allow creative individuals to compete directly and successfully with the big publishing houses that once had complete control of an author's work. Those days are gone, as the Internet has become a great equalizer in the business of publishing. The challenge, of course, is how do you market your books effectively?
At the Writing Shop, my full time business, I've helped many other authors get their materials ready for both book and eBook publishing. Let's face it, a lot of very gifted people may be great writers, but they may not be artists and designers as well, with the required computer skills to produce their book blocks, cover designs, eBook formats and marketing materials. I've been privileged to help many through my Author Services Program at the Writing Shop, and to teach them about how they can put the Great Equalizer to work for them as well!
Are you an author with a successful marketing method for the Internet? I'd love to hear about it, and would be happy to publish your thoughts about the digital revolution and how you can reach more readers on my Writing Shop web site.
Thanks for reading!
John Schettler
